Everybody thinks we had horrible pandemics of infectious diseases during the industrial revolution and vaccines saved us from them.

The simple fact that vaccines came along after deaths declined 99% aside, it was not the bugs that were the problem. It was industrial toxicity. For nearly two hundred years the captains of industry have been deflecting blame. Now that the planet is losing its life carrying capacity, should we take note? Or are we too enamored of the benefits of industrialization to notice our own suicide?

"The decrease of Hg in serum and the intestine but a concomitant intestinal increase in MT1 on day 6 may reflect a flux and increased retention of Hg to infected organs such as the brain."

"Because of the infection, the concentration of mercury in the brain increased twofold...the increase of mercury in the brain during infection might have an influence on the pathogenesis of the disease."

"These results show that HgCl2 treatment enhances the susceptibility to L. major in SJL mice, consistent with the induction of host Th2 parameters. These findings have implications for the role of mercury contamination in areas of endemic leishmaniasis."